Audio Hub brings HiFi to mobile devices

Wolfson Microelectronics’ latest Audio Hub, the WM8998, offers hi-fi playback and recording to mobile phones and tablets across the product price tiers. Wolfson is now formally part of Cirrus Logic, see news item linked below.

Featuring 122 dB DAC to headphone signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and headphone total harmonic distortion (THD+N) of 85 dB, while also supporting common audio samples rates from 8 kHz up to 24-bit/192 kHz, the WM8998 delivers loud, clear voice calls and exceptional audio playback for music and video. Small and cost-effective, the WM8998 offers flexible digital routing and mixing which supports a wide range of system architecture and use cases, while its low DAC to headphone power consumption of 6.7 mW significantly maximises battery life. The WM8998 also features an IEC-60958-3 compatible transmitter to drive S/PDIF audio input of consumer electronics equipment.

The device includes two efficient, stereo 100 dB SNR Class D speaker output drivers; a 100 mW, 127 dB SNR earpiece output driver; three concurrent microphone inputs with 96 dB SNR; programmable equaliser; wind noise, side tone and other programmable filters; and configurable dynamic range controllers (DRCs). Its fully flexible digital routing and mixing core supports a wide variety of use cases and system architectures. Its product / Linux drivers are based on the same platform as many other products in the Wolfson Audio Hub family, helping to simplify software integration by allowing designers to develop a range of products with different feature sets.

The company adds that the WM8998 complements its Audio Hub family, offering innovation for mobile devices from high-tier devices, through to mid- and lower-tier products.